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Category: California

Norton’s Pastrami & Deli – Santa Barbara, California
CaliforniaRated 23Sandwich

Norton’s Pastrami & Deli – Santa Barbara, California

Gil GardunoJune 18, 2014July 15, 2018

“I flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami.” ~George Costanza January 14th has been designated “National Hot Pastrami Sandwich day.” The fact that a day has been designated to honor the greatness of the “most sensual of all the salted and cured meats” is wholly unnecessary for…

Opal Restaurant and Bar – Santa Barbara, California
AmericanCaliforniaRated 24United States

Opal Restaurant and Bar – Santa Barbara, California

Gil GardunoJune 17, 2014July 15, 2018

We’re all familiar with premise of Iron Chef America in which accomplished chefs are pitted against the veritable pantheon of culinary giants who have earned the title of Iron Chef. Can you imagine if one of the vaunted Iron Chefs, or even one of the challengers for that matter, failed…

Trattoria Mollie – Montecito, California
CaliforniaItalianRated 26

Trattoria Mollie – Montecito, California

Gil GardunoJune 15, 2014July 15, 2018

In its three best-selling editions–published in 2006, 2008 and 2012–National Geographic’s “Passport to the Best” has enthralled, excited and educated connoisseurs of matters of taste across the globe. With top ten lists in dozens of categories studded with savvy tips and inspiring imagery, this wayfarer’s bible invigorates investigative yearnings for…

Cafe Chloe – San Diego, California (CLOSED)
CaliforniaClosed in 2018Dog FriendlyFrenchGone But Not ForgottenRated 25

Cafe Chloe – San Diego, California (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJuly 5, 2013May 1, 2020

From your seat on the sidewalk patio of Café Chloe, you can see Petco Park, the open-air home of the San Diego Padres. You’ll have a front row view of a veritable cavalcade of motorized and foot-powered conveyances—from swanky Maseratis to sleek inline skates. Passers-by on foot include some of…

Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar – La Jolla, California
CaliforniaFine DiningRated 26

Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar – La Jolla, California

Gil GardunoJuly 4, 2013July 17, 2018

My baby sister Anita paid me the ultimate compliment, not as a brother, but as a savvy restaurant essayist. When we ran into her at the Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar in picturesque La Jolla, she told me “I knew you’d find this place,” acknowledgement that she recognizes my prowess in…

Phil’s BBQ Restaurant – San Diego, California
BarbecueCaliforniaRated 25United States

Phil’s BBQ Restaurant – San Diego, California

Gil GardunoJuly 3, 2013July 17, 2018

A few decades ago, the culinary cognoscenti anointed the best bastions of bodacious barbecue–Kansas City, Memphis, Texas and the Carolinas…and there was much rejoicing. Since then, it’s been widely accepted that this exclusive quadrumvirate is where the very best barbecue in America is to be found. Much of this acceptance…

El Agave Restaurante and Tequileria – San Diego, California
CaliforniaMexicanRated 25

El Agave Restaurante and Tequileria – San Diego, California

Gil GardunoJuly 2, 2013July 17, 2018

Tequila has long endured a legacy of scorn, derision and misinformation.  It’s  been a proving ground for manhood among frat boys downing shooters to show their mettle.  Urban myths and legends have long been believed of hallucinogenic worms at the bottom of the bottle.  Because of “ta-kill-ya” induced hangovers (usually the…

Piatti Ristorante & Bar – La Jolla, California
CaliforniaItalianRated 24

Piatti Ristorante & Bar – La Jolla, California

Gil GardunoJuly 1, 2013July 17, 2018

A tavola non si invecchia. Translation: At the table with good friends and family you do not become old. ~ Italian Proverb While this timeless Italian dictum which our friend Sandy Driscoll shared with us resounds with sagacity, a little editing might make it even more accurate for Americans.  Perhaps…

Pizzeria Mozza – Newport Beach, California
CaliforniaPizzaRated 26

Pizzeria Mozza – Newport Beach, California

Gil GardunoJune 30, 2013July 17, 2018

“Breadmaking is one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world’s sweetest smells –there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music throbbing chapel that will leave you emptier of bad…

Indigo Moon Cafe, Wine and Cheese Shop – Cambria, California
AmericanCalifornia

Indigo Moon Cafe, Wine and Cheese Shop – Cambria, California

Gil GardunoJuly 20, 2012July 17, 2018

It might be easy to dismiss Cambria as a “jumping off” point to some of California’s most spectacular and  popular sites…until you actually visit Cambria.  That’s when you discover that there is plenty to see and do in this picturesque seaside village on the Central California Coast which Forbes.com declared…

Nepenthe Restaurant – Big Sur, California
AmericanCaliforniaRated 24

Nepenthe Restaurant – Big Sur, California

Gil GardunoJuly 18, 2012July 17, 2018

With all the travails and vicissitudes of  modern life, we can all use  a respite or safe harbor to which we can escape…where we can take a break from all our worries.  Big Sur, California, which most would consider an escape in and of itself has a dining destination which…

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